Crochet Spiral Handle – CAL Part 3

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This crochet spiral handle.  For years I looked at it and marveled that it was crocheted and yet, I just could not figure it out.  It remained elusive and just out of reach.  This thing of beauty.  The perfect crochet bag handle.  But today.  Today I am victorious!Crochet Spiral Handle Crochet Spiral Cord I’ve got it figured out and have broken down all the confusing bits.  And I’m going to teach you exactly how it’s done so you can be victorious too.  My friends, meet the crochet spiral cord!

This is also Part 3 of the Daisy Mae Crochet Along (CAL).  You can read everything you need to know here.  In Part 1 we covered the crochet square.  And then in Part 2 we joined everything together with the amazing faux braid join.

In case you missed it, I spent years trying to “get” how in the world to achieve that amazing spiral.  YEARS.  Do you know how annoying it is to be a very experienced crocheter and yet unable to figure out this crochet spiral handle?  And what is even irritating is that I knew the basic premise is a single crochet worked in the round.

The lowly single crochet.  And in a round.  Why oh why, was it SO difficult to understand how to do?

And that brings us to the exact crux of the matter.  The crochet spiral handle is very easy.  And at the same time, unlike anything you’ve ever done before.  It sort of breaks all the crochet rules.

So for now, put aside what you know about crochet (ok.. you do need to remember the single crochet part).  Take a deep breath and relax.  This is a new ball game.

Overview

Crochet Spiral Handle Crochet Spiral Cord

So talk about completely different.  Yes, we are working single crochet in the round.  However, the normal “right” side of the work will stay on the inside of the tube.  And the normal “wrong” side of the work goes to the outside.  And what really makes things fun is that you work the single crochet into a completely different area that you never knew existed.  Bear with me.  You will get this.

IMPORTANT:

Please read through the picture tutorial first and then at the bottom of this post, watch the video.

To Start:

One handle takes about 1/2 oz of yarn.  So give yourself a little over 1 ounce for both handles.

Ch 6.  Without joining, return to the the first chain and make the first single crochet.  This sets the work up for crocheting in a spiral.

R1: sc in the remaining chains.  (6 sc)

R2: continuing to work in a spiral, sc in each st (6 sc).

Now TURN your work so that the inside of the tube leans towards you.  Here’s where we change things up.

Crochet Spiral Handle Crochet Spiral Cord

Forget about everything you know about what crochet looks like and where you work your stitch.  Look for the sideways “V” and then identify the loop above that “V”.  (See above photo).  Work your single crochet into that strand of yarn.

Crochet Spiral Handle Crochet Spiral Cord

The first row is a bit tight.  Just continue to move along, identifying the sideways “V” and working a sc in the strand above the “V”.  You will feel like everything is wrong.  It’s not.  Just go stitch by stitch and carefully work a sc in each little strand.  Around and around.

Crochet Spiral Handle Crochet Spiral Cord

Here’s another view with the strand raised up a bit.

Crochet Spiral Handle Crochet Spiral Cord

Just wiggle your hook in and work a normal single crochet into the strand.

Crochet Spiral Handle Crochet Spiral Cord

As you work, a spiral ridge will form on the outside of the crochet spiral.

Crochet Spiral Handle Crochet Spiral Cord

And here’s another view.  See if you can identify the “V” and the strand.  Then look at your own work and find the same points.

A Deeper Understanding

If this is still confusing, here is another perspective.  The below photo shows a row of single crochet, from the back (wrong) side.

Crochet Spiral Handle Crochet Spiral Cord

The Sideways “V” is actually two strands: the Back loop and the Back Bump (also called the 3rd loop).  The strand you work into is actually the somewhat hidden strand of yarn that is between the stitches.

How Long To Make The Handles

For the Daisy Mae bag, I made each handle 16 inches long.  They do stretch a bit when in use, so that allows them to stretch a bit and still look very nice on the bag.

A Special Note:

If you are making the Daisy Mae bag, do not sew the handles on just yet.  We need to work the edging stitches BEFORE the handles are sewn on.  The edging stitches, lining and finishing touches are covered in Part 4.

Crochet Spiral Handle Crochet Spiral Cord

Meet My Very First Video

I thought it would be helpful to see this technique in a video.  So I made one for you.  Please be patient with me as I learn “all the ways” of video.

Remember, to learn all about the amazing Daisy Mae Bag click here.  In Part One we learned how to make the squares with the extra border row to enable us to be ready for Part Two.  In Part Two we learned an amazing Faux Braid Join.  In this post we make the handles for our bag.  And then in Part 4, we do the edging, make a lining and sew the handles on!

Daisy Mae Crochet Bag

Purchase an ad-free printable version of the Daisy Mae Bag pattern here

I love seeing your finished projects! If you enjoyed making one of my patterns I’d love to see yours on Instagram, be sure to tag me @crochet365knittoo.  If you are on Facebook, stop over to the Crochet 365 Knit Too Facebook page or pop over to the Crochet365KnitToo Club and share a photo!  I’d love to see your work!

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25 Comments

  1. Even after watching Nicki’s excellent video and reading her written instructions, I was still stumped. I followed her recommendation to your page, and your illustrations clicked with me. The “view-from-the-top” photos you included are what did the trick. It’s interesting how a slight change in perspective can often clear things up. I’m sure many folks caught on with Nicki’s tutorial right away. I’m grateful to both of you for working so hard to help the rest of us learn this technique. Thank you!

    1. Sometimes teamwork makes the dream work! This is a tough technique to “get” and it helps to see more than one point of view. Glad we were both able to help you!

      1. I know I am 3 years late to the party but, do you still have the video somewhere? It isn’t visible to me.

  2. Thanks. Oh my thanks. At last I could make it. Your explanations are great.
    I make all sorts of handles for bags but couldn’t get this one. Once again thanks.

  3. Thank you for this lovely bag to make. I have done the squares and joined them – easy. But this crochet spiral handle I cannot get. Maybe because I am left handed!!!! Are you able to show how to find the right loop for left handers because I have tried and tried but cannot get this to work? I have looked on the net but there is nothing like this spiral handle that I can find for left handed people. Any help you can give would be gratefully appreciated. Thanks

    1. My best suggestion would be to find the photo that shows what you are looking for and then put a mirror to it and see if that makes it easier to find. The spiral handle is a very challenging crochet project. If you find it too difficult you could work a handle similar to the Sweet Summer Sunflower Bag instead.

  4. I’m not what I would call accomplished as a crocheter but DO understand your video – and *that* makes me quite happy.

    Thank you!!

  5. I can’t find anything that says “A Final Word” anywhere on this page!! Also can’t find the video – and I’ve read every single word of this page 5 times. Every. Single. Word. Where is it? You said it was near “A Final Word” but if I can’t find that, and don’t see any video anywhere – what do I do? I can’t make it appear no matter how hard I try to blink my way to it. 🙂 Help! I’d love to learn this technique but can’t seem to make the pictures make sense. I was hoping the video would help me to understand it much better than I am so far. Help!!

    1. The video is under the heading “Meet My First Video”. As far as the ‘final word’ reference, this post has been revised over the years and so my response to an earlier comment isn’t accurate in the revised layout.

  6. I know this a very old post, but the video looked very straightforward. I can’t wait to make a pair of these handles. I was wondering if anyone has tried this with a self striping yarn and what the results looked like?

  7. I must be a little stupid, I can’t find the video even under the my first video heading… I’m using dark yarn for this so I’m having some real trouble finding the loops without the video.

    1. Do you have an ad blocker turned on your browser? That could be why. As a work around, you could disable the blocker, or try going into the post through a different browser, or try going in through Google Chrome Incognito mode. Hope that helps.